Glassware transfer device



9 H. w. INGLE GLASSWARE TRANSFER DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 29, 1929 jlnventor in ess:

ftorn FatentedAug. 8, 1933 GLASSWARE TRANSFER DEVICE Henry W. Ingle, West Hartford, Conn., assignor to Hartford-Empire Company, Hartford, Conn., a Corporation of Delaware Application November 29, 1929 Serial No. 410,285

12' Claims.

This invention relates to an automatic device for transferring articles of glassware as from a forming machine to a conveyor, and more particularly to an automatic means for carying the speed of the transferred article between the receiving position and the delivery position.

The invention comprises, broadly, a transfer device for glassware, which is preferably driven at a constant speed but so controlled that the speed of the gripping mechanism corresponds first to the speed of the surface from which the ware is picked up and then .to the speed of the surface upon which the ware is deposited.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a new and improved means for transferring articles of glassware from a forming machine to a conveyor or buck both of which move continuously but at different speeds, such means approximating the speed of the forming machine and the conveyor when picking up and depositing ware.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the transfer mechanism mounted adjacent the forming machine and over a buck;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism mounted adjacent a two-table glassware forming machine and. over a buck;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the lines 3- Q of Fig. 1, certain parts therein shown being omitted for clearness of illustration;

Fig. 4 is an elevation on an enlarged scale of the tongs mechanism and the supporting arm therefor shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lift cam.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, an embodiment of my novel transfer mechanism, designated as A, is shown mounted over a buck B O and adjacent the finishing table C of a two table continuously rotating glassware forming machine.

The transfer mechanism comprises a frame 9 which supports in bearings 10 and 11 a drive shaft 12- to which gear wheels 13 and 14 are keyed. Gear wheel 13 is driven from the forming machine as from a bull gear of a table D and rotative motion is imparted through the above described shaft and gear wheel 14. to agear 50 wheel 15 which is the driving means of the transfer mechanism proper. It is obvious that the wheel 15 may be driven by any desired means.

The gear wheel 15 is keyed to a shaft 18 which extends through and rotates in a sleeve 20, which sleeve is supported in a split hub 19 formed on an extension of the bracket 17. The bracket 1'7 is a part of the frame 9. A ball bearing 16 is provided between the upper end of the hub 19 and the lower end of the gear 15. A casting is keyed to the shaft 20 and carries on its upper and lower portions, respectively, cams for controlling vertical and horizontal movements of the tong mechanisms hereinafter described. vThe upper cam, controlling the vertical movement of the tongs, comprises two portions 22 and 22a. The portion 22 is integral with, or fixedly mounted on, the casting, while the portion 22a may be adjusted circumferentially of the casting and relative to the member 22, and fixed in selected adjusted positions by the screw 220. The fixed portion of the upper cam 22 controls the vertical movement of the tong mechanism during the grasping and removing of the ware from the shaping machine, while the adjustable portion 22a controls the vertical movements of the tong mechanism during the deposit of ware upon the 75 buck or conveyor. By varying the position of the adjustable portion 22a relative to the casting and the fixed portion 22, the takeout may be adapted to deposit ware on bucks or conveyors difierently arranged with respect to the shaping machine. The cam 21, which is adapted to impart horizontal movement to the tongs mechanism, may be integral with, or fixedly mounted on, the casting, and as indicated, provides a closed cam path for positively directing the horizontal movements of the tongmechanisms.

Keyed to the shaft 18 is a two-winged casting 23, which is constantly rotated by the movement of the gear wheel 15 transmitted through the shaft. Mounted through bearings 21 and 25 formed in the casting 23 are rods 26 and 2'7 on which are slidably and rotatably mounted castings 28 and 29. Upon the upper end of the castings 28 and 29 are rotatably mounted cam rollers 30 and 31 which travel over the cams 22 and 22a and impart vertical movement to the castings 28 and 29. R0- tatably mounted on the rods 26 and 27 and partially above the castings 28 and 29 are castings 32 and 33 which are also mounted for vertical movement, as shown in Fig. 1, and which are moved vertically in response to movements of the castings 28 and 29.

Rotatably attached to the upper end of the castings 32 and 33 are cam rollers 34 and 35 which travel in the cam 21 during the rotation of the casting 23 and impart horizontal movement to the castings 32 and 33 about their respective provided with extensions 36 and 37 having bifurcated ends, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, which embrace extensions 38 and 39 of the castings 23, but are adapted for vertical movement with respect thereto.

Mounted on the lower ends of the castings 32 and 33 are similar w-are gripping members and actuating means therefor, so that a description of one of which will suffice for both. Mounted on one part of the lower portion of the casting 32 are bearings 40 and 41 (see Fig. 4) in which are mounted stud shafts 42 and 43, to the lower ends of which shafts are fastened gripping fingers 44 and 45. The upper ends of the shafts 42 and 43 carry segmental gear members 46 and 47 which mesh with each other. A yieldable link 48 connects an eccentric pivot on the gear 46 to a pin 49 which is eccentrically mounted on a star wheel 50. The star wheel 50 is rotatably mounted on a vertical axis substantially in alignment with the rod 26 on another part of the lower end of the casting 32 and upon rotation thereof, in a manner hereinafter described, imparts through the meshing of the gears 46 and 4'7 an opening and closing motion to the gripping fingers 44 and 45. The link 48 includes a yielding connection 51 between the pin 49 and the gear member 46 to insure that, if the tongs encounter an oversized bottle or other abnormal condition, they may yield and thus prevent an injury to the tongs and ware.

A spring-pressed detent 52 is so located in the casting 32 that it will press against the star wheel and thus prevent overrunning (see Fig. 4).

A bracket 53 is connected to the casting carrying cam 22 and supports at its lower end by means of bolts 54 and slots 55 a plate 56 bearing three pins 57 with which the star wheels 50 cooperate as they rotate. The action of the pins 57 upon each of the rotatably mounted wheels 50 causes them to move the eccentric pin 49 substantially 180 about the axis of the wheel and thus open the gripping fingers. Attached to the frame 9 of the transfer apparatus is a similar mechanism generally designated as 58, which exerts a similar action upon the wheel 50 and causes it to carry the pin 49 the remainder of the way around the axis of the wheel and closes the tongs. It is obvious that pins must be so located thatthey actuate the star Wheels at the exact point where it is desired to pick up or release an article of glassware.

Thus the plate 56 is connected to the bracket 53 by a slot and bolt connection 54 and 55, which permits adjustive movement of the plate 56 and the pins 5'7 carried thereby to adjust the time of opening the gripping tongs, and the mechanism 58 is similarly made adjustable for adjusting the closing thereof. Thus variations in the relative position of the pick-up and delivery positions may be compensated for by the aforesaid means of adjusting the time of opening and closing of the tong fingers.

In operation, the mold tables D and C of the glassware forming machine rotate constantly and at periodical intervals bring the finished articles of glassware to the position designated as 63 (Fig. 2). The transfer mechanism is driven in synchronism therewith and as the article of glassware reaches that position the tongs mechanism close about it and are raised slightly by the action of the cam 22 and by the linkage between it and the tongs mechanism. At this time the tongs are substantially in their outermost position as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 at 63. The transfer mechanism continues to rotate and as it rotates, the tongs are drawn inwardly through opened and the ware released thereupon. Thus the tongs may travel at the relatively high speed of the machine while picking up the bottles and at the relatively low speed of the conveyor while depositing the ware thereon.

Obviously the cam 21 may be so designed, if

desired, that the tongs may travel for an appreciable distance in paths coincidental with those of the molds and the conveyor or of either of them.

Numerous modifications and changes may be made from the above described embodiment of my invention without departing from the scope thereof as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A glassware transfer device adapted to transfer articles of glassware from a moving surface to a second less rapidly moving surface comprising an arm, means to rotate the arm continuously and at a uniform speed about a stationary axis eccentric of both said moving surfaces, glassware gripping means mounted on the arm, and means including the arm rotating means to move the gripping means through a path distant from said axis as they grip the ware and to move the gripping means through a path less distant from said axis as they deposit the ware, whereby the velocity of the gripping means more closely corresponds to the velocity of the less rapidly moving surface.

2. A takeout devicefor glassware adapted to remove finished articles of ware from a glassware shaping machine and to deposit them upon a conveyor comprising an arm mounted for rotation about a fixed vertical axis eccentric of said machine and said conveyor, ware gripping means mounted on the arm, means for rotating the arm continuously at constant speed about said vertical axis, means operative during the rotation of said arm for moving the ware gripping means outwardly from said axis as it approaches the ware to be gripped and inwardly toward said axis as it approaches the place of deposit of said ware, and means for closing and opening the tongs to grip and release the ware.

3. A takeout device for glassware comprising an arm'comprising two pivotally connected portions, a vertical pivot on which one end of one of said portions of said arm is mounted for rotation, ware gripping tongs mounted at the other end of the other of said portions of the arm, means for rotating the first-named portion of the arm continuously at constant angular velocity about said vertical pivot, means for opening and closing the tongs, cam means for raising and lowering the tongs, and means for causing movement of the outer portion of the arm toward the vertical pivot, whereby during a portion of each rotation of the arm the tongs are extended and travel at a relatively high linear speed and during another portion of said rotation are retracted toward the axis of rotation and travel at a lower linear speed, the tong actuating means being effective to cause the tongs to grip the ware while in extended position and to release the ware while in retracted position.

4. A glassware transfer device adapted to face to a second surface, comprising a plurality of arms mounted for rotary movement about a fixed axis, glassware gripping means on each of said arms, means for imparting continuous rotary movement to the arms to bring them successively toward the said surfaces, means to move the gripping means in coincidence with the article to be transferred while the same is carried on the first named surface, means for actuating the gripping means to pick up said article of glassware, means thereafter operative to move the gripping means and the article of glassware held thereby inwardly toward the axis of rotation of the arms, and means for actuating the gripping means to release said article of glassware to deposit it on said second surface while the gripping means are in said inward position.

5. A ware transfer device for removing ware from a continuously rotating glassware forming machine comprising a support, means for rotating said support continuously and at a constant speed about a vertical axis eccentric of said machine, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, and means effective to open and close said tongs independent of the angular position of said arm with respect to said support and during the continuous movement of the latter.

6. A ware transfer device comprising a support, means for rotating said support continuously and at a constant speed about a vertical axis, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, means independent of the angular position of said arm with respect to said support effective to open said tongs adjacent to one zone in the rotation of said support and to close them adjacent to another zone in said rotation, and means to adjust the position of one of said zones angularly about the axis of said support.

7., A were transfer device comprising a support, means for rotating said support continuously and at a constant speed about a vertical axis, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs fingers carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, and means for opening and closing said tongs fingers comprising intermeshing gear segments respectively secured to the tongs fingers, a star wheel pivoted on a vertical axis substantially in alignment with the pivotal axis of said arm, a link connection between a point on and eccentric of said star wheel and a point on one of said tongs fingers eccentric of the pivotal axis thereof for imparting opening and closing movement to the tongs fingers upon rotation of the star wheel, and means adjacent to the pickup and delivery stations for the ware to be transferred respectively for imparting rotativemovements to the star wheel and thereby for closing the tongs to engage the ware at the receiving station and open them to deposit the ware at the delivery station.

8. A ware transfer device comprising a support, means for rotating said support continuously and at a constant speed about a vertical axis, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, means for'opening and closing said tongs, and means for continuously predetermining and at times varying the angular relations between said arm and said support.

9. A ware transfer device for taking ware from a predetermined point upon a continuously moving carrier and transferring it to a delivery station, comprising a support, means for rotating said support continuously and at a constant speed synchronized with the speed of said carrier and about a vertical axis, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, means for opening and closing said tongs, and means for moving said arm relative to said support about its pivot to cause the tongs to follow the path of movement of the ware upon said carrier for facilitating the engagement of the ware by the tongs.

10. A ware transfer device for taking ware from a receiving station and depositing it upon a conveyor which moves continuously and at a constant speed, comprising a support, means for rotating said support continuously and at a constant speed about a vertical axis, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, means to open and close said tongs, and means for predetermining and varying the relative angular positions of said arm and said support during the period ware is being deposited upon said conveyor to cause the tongs to move substantially in the same direction and speed as said conveyor and in alignment thereover.

11. A ware transfer device for receiving ware from a carrier which rotates continuously about a vertical axis and transferring it to a continuously moving conveyor spaced from the carrier, comprising a support, means for rotating said support in timed relation with the rotation of the carrier, continuously and at a constant speed about a vertical axis offset from the axis of said carrier, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, means to open and close said tongs, and cam means for predetermining and varying the angular relations between said support and said arm to cause the tongs to move in substantial coincidence with the ware on the carrier which is to be transferred adjacent to the pick-up point and thereafter to cause said tongs to move in a position, direction, and speed during the depositing of the ware upon the conveyor such that the diiferential motion between the ,ware and the conveyor is minimized.

12. A ware transfer device comprising a support, means for rotating said support continuously and at a constant speed about a vertical axis, an arm pivoted to said support on a vertical axis eccentric of the axis of said support, tongs carried by said arm at a point thereon remote from its pivot, means to open and close said tongs, means for moving the tongs vertically to cause the tongs to be lowered adjacent to the point at which the ware is to be deposited and thereafter to be raised, means for adjustably varying the position of the zone at which the tongs are lowered angularly about the axis of said support, and means for adjustably varying the point at which the tongs are opened angularly about the axis of the support to correspond with the adjustment of the tongs lowering means.

HENRY W. 'INGLE. 

